We Don’t Need No Immigration: Poland Considers Wall on Border With Ukraine

Date of publication: 26 02 2016, 12:39

Poland’s Ruch Narodowy (National Movement) party strongly believes that building a wall on the border with Ukraine could add significantly to containing a flow of illegal migrants, Polish media reported.

Sylwester Chruszcz, a representative of the party, was quoted by the Polish newspaper Wiadomosci as warning that this spring the Polish-Ukrainian border may well become a “channel for the transfer of illegal migrants to Poland.”

“This is why Poland should be prepared start building a wall [to protect itself] from the influx of refugees,” he said.

According to Chruszcz, if the Polish government says “no” to his party’s proposal, it will be responsible for “a human tragedy because a wave of migrants will rush into Poland.”

He also said that the cost of the project will stand at about 225 million zlotys (60 million dollars).

Ukraine has been experiencing a humanitarian crisis since April 2014, when Kiev launched a military operation against independence supporters in the Donbass region.

The United Nations said last year that the total number of Ukrainian refugees seeking any form of legal stay in neighboring countries had reached 770,000; most of them have sought asylum in Russia.

The 200-million-dollar project entails a barrier about 2,000 kilometers long, which would stretch along Ukraine’s actual border with Russia. It would include anti-tank trenches measuring four meters wide and two meters deep, as well as 17-meter tall metal watchtowers, observation posts, alarms, retaliatory weaponry and special border check-points.